5 Fun Things To Do With Ice: Crafts, Recipes, + More

*** Dinosaur Excavation concept and image from The Outlaw Mom.

Momma Told Me: Life is what you make it.

As a young girl I was constantly impressed with not only Momma's frugality, but her sheer creativity when it came down to entertaining me over long vacation breaks. It seemed as though the cheapest of materials could blossom into hours of fun art projects and learning. We'd turn old walnut shells into reindeer necklaces, color epsom salts for home made bath gems, turn old worn clothes into scarecrows, and so much more. In fact, more than not, I'd look at discarded materials and trash and challenge her to make something of it. With Spring Break, followed by Summer Vacation, almost upon us, I figured it was a fitting time to share some of my favorite uses of a common household item, ice.

Watercolor Ice: There are many variations of Ice Painting, but most involve standard plastic 'cube' trays and the diluting of washable paints or mixing of food colors and water. Washable paints, such as the kind you find in preschool finger painting pots will provide brighter colors, but also tend to separate and result in a less preservable work of art. If you are looking for a watercolor portrait you can put in the fridge try mixing 3 drops of food-safe color with one cube's worth of water. Let kids mix the food color to create their own hues for color education. Stick popsicle sticks in the cubes before they set to provide handles to draw with for a less messy playtime.

Shark Punch: Shark Punch is as simple as it sounds. Invest in a bag of standard gummy sharks (I find mine at 7-Eleven in a peg bag), and use a larger ice mold to allow for room to 'see' the sharks. I used larger cube molds here and the effect was more of a 'shark bursting out of ice' than 'sharks swimming in ice.' For parties and larger events whip up a batch of Blue Raspberry Kool Aid or similar punch with some lemon-lime soda and watch as the gummy sharks reveal themselves. This is great for Summer parties and luaus!

Dinosaur Excavation From Outlaw Mom Blog

Dinosaur Excavation: Taken from an Outlaw Mom post on Ice Fun, a Dinosaur Excavation can be staged by freezing several small action figures in a casserole or tupperware container. Float your iceberg in blue colored water for extra fun 'Ice Age' interaction. Arm children with various tools to uncover the dinosaurs inside, such as tooth brush, spray bottle of warm water, toy hammers, etc. This activity is especially good for children with sensory disorders, and younger kids who are still learning about texture and touch.

Snow Ice Cream: Most commonly achieved by combining 4 cups of snow with a chilled mixture of 1/2 C Milk, 1/4 C granulated sugar, 1/2 TSP vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt- Snow Ice Cream recipes are actually quite plentiful. The key to a smooth snow ice cream is well chilling the liquid mixture prior to mixing, While you can carve your snow off any drift, it's often exciting to see a snow storm and set a special container outside the afternoon of or evening before, with the intent of making this treat. Play around by adding a pinch of cocoa, food coloring, or chocolate chips and sprinkles to really bring this activity to life.

Floating Eyeballs: Round ice molds are especially fun to play with, and often used for whiskey. However, these silicone whiskey ice molds are sold for a few bucks on Amazon and can easily be converted into 'magical orbs' or floating eyeballs. Here I used black licorice button (or blackberry well rinsed) and sliced kiwi to create my retina and pupil. I then used chunks of pineapple to add extra depth and texture to the retina and wove strands of licorice strings between them for blood vessels. This look completely creepy in a punch bowl at Halloween!

What Daughter Says: Think outside the cube for fun activities everyone will love.